What is Voice!?

Voice! is a juried art exhibition of work celebrating the creative voices of artists with intellectual and/or other developmental disabilities from across New York State.  Now in its ninth year, the exhibit, which is  sponsored by The Arc Otsego, has featured the work of well over 200 artists and has awarded  over $7,000 in prize money.  Most importantly,  Voice! never fails to joyfully, exuberantly and thoughtfully remind us of the power of art to transcend disability and stereotypes to reveal our common ground and celebrate our unique abilities.

 Last year's Voice! 8 was made possible by our wonderful sponsors
Gilroy Kernan & Gilroy Insurance, Inc.   
 Gordon B. Roberts Agency, Inc.
KeyBank      NYSID, Inc
and with grants from Corning Incorporated Foundation and  Excellus BCBS

What is New for 2013?

Our goal is to continue to increase accessibility to the event and exposure for the artwork.

•  Voice! returns to July this year and for the first time, the show will run for three weeks. 
• The opening reception and awards ceremony on July 12 will be broadcast on a live stream.  That means that even if an artist and his or her friends and family can’t attend the opening, they can see everything in real time!    We hope people will have Voice! parties and watch the opening night festivities. 
• We are also working to increase exposure for the artwork by inviting groups to special events.  For example, the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce will hold an after-hours get together at Voice! on July 18.
• Awards have increased by one with the addition of the Heart Award.
• Groups may submit applications to exhibity collaborative works. 

What Prizes are Awarded?

First Prize $300
Second prize $250
Third Prize $200
Fourth Prize $150
Honorable Mention $100

The Heart Award $100 (new in 2012)
Curator’s Award $50
Juror’s Award (2) $50 Spirit Award (2) $50
People’s Choice $50

Submission Process:
Individual Works

The completed application form, along with a labeled high quality jpg sent either electronically  or on a CD must be received no later than Wednesday, May 22, 2013.  High quality print copy is acceptable, but electronic or CD submission is preferred.  Please do not send the original work.  The label must include the artist’s name, title of the work, size of the piece and medium type.  Please note that the application form includes authorization for the use of the artist’s first and last name, photo, bio and image of the work.  The Arc Otsego reserves the right to use this information for educational and publicity purposes.  Regrettably, we can only consider submissions for which we have a signed authorization for all required information.

Submissions must be limited to no more than eight pieces/program and no more than two pieces/artist.  There are no size restrictions on the size of the work.

Work submitted must be original artwork and have been completed within the past three years.

An application fee of  $10.00/artist is due with the registration form.  Please make the check payable to The Arc Otsego.  Should an artist wish to submit a second work, the application fee is $5.00 for the additional piece. Entry fees are non-refundable.  For those who chose electronic submission, the submission fee can be sent separately through the mail.

Electronic Submissions:  sessionsl@arcotsego.org

Mail submissions:

Lynne Sessions, Director, Community Relations

The Arc Otsego

PO Box 490, Oneonta, NY 13820

or for more information:

Phone:  607-433-8428

Fax:        607-433-8430

Applicants will be notified of acceptance by email by Friday, May 24.  An acceptance packet will be mailed out the following week.

Eligibility:  Who May Submit Work?

Voice! is open to any individual living in New York State who is 18 years of age or older and has an intellectual and/or other developmental disability.

What Type of Work Can be Submitted?

Submitted work must be original work, completed by an individual within the past three years, including fine craft, painting, photography, sculpture, graphics (i.e., drawing, printmaking) or mixed media.

Submission Process:

Collaborative Works

Up to a maximum of four (4) collaborative works will be accepted for exhibition at Voice!.  Collaborative works are juried for inclusion in the exhibit, but are not eligible for jurying for prize money.  Collaborative works submissions must meet the same requirements as individual works submissions.  In addition, a description of the nature of the collaboration must accompany the submission.  The description should be one page or less in length. 

• Submission fee for a collaborative work is $25
• First and last names and signed “Authorization to Disclose Information” (on application form) for all collaborators must accompany the submission
• One collaborative work submission/program.